Nick Saban responds to Alabama fan's wedding invite with a 'Roll Tide'

It was the Third Saturday in October - aka the Alabama-Tennessee football game - and it would be the first SEC game that Bama grad Casey Marriott had attended with her die-hard Tennessee fan boyfriend, Brandon Jones.
Whenever Alabama played Tennessee, according to Marriott, Jones would keep saying, "Ya'll just wait a couple more years..." which prompted laughter from Marriott.
"There is a reason Brandon and I (hadn't) been to a game together," she joked. The couple tries to limit smack talk to just the Alabama-Tennessee gameday. "I can't figure out if it is because we keep beating them, or if it's because of me!"
But this game was special. The morning of the game, the couple strolled toward downtown Knoxville, planning to meet Marriott's parents at Tupelo Honey on the square for breakfast.
"We were walking to meet them, and he just gets down on one knee and asked me to be his wife," said Marriott. "Little did I know, Brandon hired a professional photographer to capture the moment, and had both of our families hiding inside the restaurant.
"The day ended with a Tide victory, which means it was the most perfect day for this Bama girl."
In early November, Marriott and her mom were going over the wedding guest list. Her mom was jotting down names of friends and family while Marriott sat there, thinking.
The first name she wrote down? Nick and Terry Saban.
"Why not?" she said. "I figured they seem like nice people, and I have always wanted to meet him. It was all just for fun."
She also, on a whim, invited other celebrities, including Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5.
When she told Jones she was inviting the Sabans, he asked if that meant he got to invite Butch Jones.
"No, I am sorry, but it doesn't mean that," she joked. "But we can invite Peyton Manning."
Fast forward to last week, when an RSVP arrived in the mail from Nick and Terry Saban. They regretfully declined, but included a handwritten note: "Roll Tide & Best wishes for the happy couple!"
"I was so giddy that they even took the time to send it back," said Marriott. "Not only that, but they sent it back before the deadline date, which some of my guests haven't even done!"
Monday afternoon, Marriott's mother called her at work, saying she had received an envelope from the Alabama Football Department.
"I told her to open it ASAP and send pics of whatever it was," said Marriott.
Inside was a signed photo of the Sabans, addressed to her and Jones.
"Some people think, 'Who cares, it's just an autograph, it isn't that hard to get one,' but to me it is much more than that," said Marriott. "Despite what most football teams and fans think of Coach Saban, he truly is a great guy, and cares for his fans. He is a legend in college football and has created history here at the University of Alabama.
"This just shows what kind of people Nick and Terry are, and I appreciate their kindness."
Marriott said she wishes Coach Saban luck on spring training, which starts the day before Marriott's March 14 wedding.
She and Jones will be married at Burritt on the Mountain in Huntsville.
Afterward, the couple will live in Huntsville, where Marriott is the catering director for The Chef Next Door and general manager for the Marketplace Café, and Jones is the head golf pro at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Hampton Cove.